Endorsement: Bob Turner, The GOP's Best Choice for The Senate

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GOP primaries are not the norm in New York City, but this Tuesday, registered Republicans have the chance to pick a nominee to challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in November. Of the three candidates, U.S. Rep. Bob Turner seems to have the best experience and is the one most ready to represent all New Yorkers in the Senate. We realize that the thing that stands out most to us about him, his openness to compromise with Democrats on taxes, will not be seen as a plus by many Republican voters. And admittedly, many may not put much stock in the endorsement of a paper that endorses Democrats much more often. But these voters may want to look less at ideological purity and more at who has the best chance to win. Our interest is in having the two strongest candidates. Many Republicans feign interest in the national debt when it comes to government programs they don't like but ignore it when it comes to taxes or defense spending. Turner's interest in the debt is sincere and he is at least willing to listen to Democrats, rather than closing the door to any real negotiations. It is clear to us that he would be better than most Republican senators, as well as his two opponents, Wendy Long and George Maragos. He deserves the chance to try and make the case that he is also better than Gillibrand. We endorse Bob Turner in Tuesday's Republican primary.